The Federal and Provincial governments have allocated $1.2 billion to increasing internet infrastructure throughout Ontario, boosting speed, and improving connections in small towns and rural areas.
$170 million of this is flowing into northeastern Ontario. Earlier today, Liberal MP Anthony Rota helmed a press conference announcing this money will affect 39,000 households, with all improvements expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
“It’s an exciting announcement that covers a big part of northern Ontario,” Rota said.
See: Faster internet coming to Nipissing First Nation
Rota emphasized that unreliable internet within some rural communities “has made the impact of this pandemic even more difficult than in other areas of the country.”
“Canada works best when all three levels of government work co-operatively,” Rota said, “and this is a prime example of how we can achieve great things when we work together.”
Terry Sheehan, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Economic Development, which operates FedNor, and provides funds for this project, highlighted how reliable internet has become a necessity.
“Internet is in a word, essential,” Sheehan said, emphasizing how the pandemic highlighted the necessity to perform more tasks online, from business, to education, to virtual health care appointments.
See: Broadband internet access services coming to Lake Temagami
To accomplish the upgrades, “the government of Canada and Ontario have entered into a historic partnership,” Sheehan said, “that will bring high-speed internet into hundreds of thousands of rural homes” in hundreds of communities across the province.
Ottawa and the province are splitting the $1.2 billion, and “in addition, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is assessing opportunities through the universal broadband fund to provide additional financing” for the project, Sheehan added.
Nipissing’s MPP Vic Fedeli explained that about $25 million is going directly to regions around North Bay, including Mattawa, Rutherglen, Bonfield, Calvin, East Ferris, Astorville, Chiswick, “and the list carries on to other communities,” like Callander, Trout Creek, and Powassan.
“Of the 39,000 connections, we’re getting 8,556 of them right here in the riding of Nipissing.”
See: Slow downloads, Powassan? Broadband upgrades are coming soon
With faster internet soon to be at hand for rural residents, Fedeli was asked if greater investments would be made toward improving online education through colleges and universities, and whether funding may be allocated to improve small business within these regions.
“Let’s talk a little about that,” he said, adding that “we’ve made some very major investments and announcements at both Canadore College and Nipissing University for access to online programming.”
Furthermore, “we’ve just launched the Digital Mainstreet,” program that allocates $10 million “to help businesses move to online” sales.
“We’re taking applications for those right now,” he said.
“We expect businesses to be able to use this Digital Mainstreet to build a complete on-line presence.”
Overall, Fedeli is excited to initiate these new and improved connections, “to ensure that everyone, no matter where you live, can take part and thrive in a digital world.”
See: $50,000 awarded to small businesses in Nipissing through Ontario’s Digital Main Street Program.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
